Fishlore, COVID-19, lockdowns and boredom

Hi everyone,
You don't see me posting very often, but I'm still here, watching, lurking and doing mod stuff.

One thing the moderators have started to notice is the number of what I'll call 'boredom' threads starting to emerge on the forum.

The moderators all agree that lockdowns and boredom are part of the fight against this virus, and we are practicing tolerance to threads that we would otherwise shutdown.

First and foremost, Fishlore is a site and forum for aquarists to come together to discuss fish-keeping, Mike did not create the community for general chit chat, and the mod team would appreciate if we could focus on the purpose of the forum, that is, providing help and advice to fellow aquarists.

Yes, we have various sub-forums for games and general chat (we all need to unwind), but those types of threads should not become the 'covid normal Fishlore', we are still a community focussed on helping other aquarists with their issues.

We all appreciate the boredom of lockdown (heck, I went through one of the most restrictive lockdowns in the world), but Fishlore was not the place I chose to post random stuff to.

Every thread requires more attention from the moderators, and the more random the thread, the more we have to watch it, and the less time we have to look at 'real' threads. So I guess I'm just asking you to consider the type of thread you're posting, consider if you're posting out of boredom, maybe FL isn't the right place for such a thread.

Or, am I way off the mark? I think we have an amazing community that is tolerant and appreciative of the challenges of 2020, but let's focus on fish-keeping

 

So someone like me, I joined after the covid lockdown... The lockdown maybe part of what spurred my hobby more. I'm fully in love with this hobby, and I agree we need to keep things on topic. However, there are times there might be light side banter/teasing (always in good fun, like my Michigan friends here who like to tease me about my many tanks), but its always fish related that I've seen. I just hope that doesn't get lost, and personality of people in the forums as this is what draws me here. But I don't know what things are like "pre-covid" here, so I don't have a before and after picture... I know I've posted some things that are indirectly fish related (IE: my old rental home and turning it into a fish-house), I guess my question is, would that be considered non-fishlore material?

I do enjoy that this is a place we can work together and help each other be better fishkeepers, and its not like some other groups/forums out there that are quite mean to be frank.

Also, I do not tend to read, or peruse the non-hobby related topics, so maybe I'm naïve to these happening as I just bypass it and don't even bother?

Anyhow, overall I definitely agree, I just don't want to see personality lost. I love this place, this is my go-to place for all things fishy!

However, I see a lot of people seeing here as an extended family and sometimes want to share with each other, other things in their life... I get it!

 

I'm not a mod or team member, but I agree that the boredom threads have definitely picked up. Forum games are lots of fun, but it is certainly important to remember that this is an overall serious website and we shouldn't be getting on here just to play games.

Now I say this in the fact that I absolutely contribute to these threads, I've probably even started a couple of them. But this is a good reminder of the purpose of this website.

 

I agree that we should not have too many, but Fishlore is like a family to me and I like to share things with them.

 

I agree wholeheartedly, as a forum member who absolutely did share her perspective on butter being left out on the counter vs kept in the fridge, lol. I've found it nice to be able to socialize a little with the group talking about silly and unrelated things, but definitely think the uptick in forum games and unrelated posts has been excessive.

 

I agree wholeheartedly, as a forum member who absolutely did share her perspective on butter being left out on the counter vs kept in the fridge, lol. I've found it nice to be able to socialize a little with the group talking about silly and unrelated things, but definitely think the uptick in forum games and unrelated posts has been excessive.

Yes. Totally agree with this

 

Hi Ryan, thanks for the reminder, I agree with you. Let's start off 2021 strong!

Question - if there was a thread that actually started a while ago (2018), & people (including me) are still participating in it today, what do you think of that? Does that still contribute to the 'boredom' threads?

Other mods & members are welcome to chime in too. Thanks!

 

(IE: my old rental home and turning it into a fish-house), I guess my question is, would that be considered non-fishlore material?

Sounds like FishLore material to me!

Question - if there was a thread that actually started a while ago (2018), & people (including me) are still participating in it today, what do you think of that? Does that still contribute to the 'boredom' threads?

It depends what the topic is. Usually if its a fish question and the OP has not returned to the thread, the problem has likely been resolved. Example would be replying to a stocking or disease question. It's best not resurrect it.

Then there are others that are on going. The wondering what everyone looks like and cooking threads for example.
They were started long ago but have been consistently active. It's fine to keep the topic going.

To add to Ryan has said, it's great to have fun and make fun threads on the forum to get to know each other. It's part of what makes FL special.

However, things had gotten out of hand to the point that the moderation team was spending more time moving or deleting nonsense threads or posts, created just to create.

It's natural to get defensive when a thread like this gets posted but please remember, most of what is edited, removed or moved is done before the membership sees them.

Then a thread like this pops up and everyone is like.....What problem? We didn't see a problem.
If that's the case...
You're welcome, the team has done it's job.

 

In terms of threads that are okay and threads that aren't okay; threads like 'unpopular opinions,' 'random thoughts,' the gamer thread whatever its called; are these the sorts of threads you don't want to see, or are these existing threads okay but you don't want to see more of them?

Is participating on these existing threads okay or you would rather we let them go inactive?

Its just I've read this a few times and I'm still a little unclear I tend to need things in 'black and white' to get it

 

I'm not a fan of the culture I've seen popping up here lately... if you find that more posting is being done in the general section and not freshwater aquarium discussion, then the response should not be to discourage or sensor general discussion. If you really don't want general discussions happening here then why have a huge part of your website and server space dedicated towards it? As a consumer this make very little sense to me. Especially when legitimate posts in the freshwater aquarium discussion section are removed due to fine etiquette things that have not been actively enforced for several months. From an outside perspective, it seems that priorities are all over the place lately, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one who feels alienated by it.

Just a suggestion, but perhaps the increase in "boredom" posting is a natural phenomena that can be seen across the entire internet? People are going to post somewhere when they feel this way, so it might as well be here in my opinion. Heck, if you apply that theory in other ways, this effect can be seen across all of society right now. For a lot of people, including myself, this place has been a saving grace during 2020. Ruling/sensoring with an iron fist out of the blue can quickly tarnish that image and reduce this experience to the same feeling one gets out of doing their taxes.

I do realize that server space is quickly becoming an issue, and many members have suggested that cleaning up old threads would be a viable solution. That was quickly rejected. However, it only takes me a few seconds to find an older thread from, say, 2016 or something that has no value in terms of storing information or helping people with specific questions. Yesterday in particular I came across one in relation to a product that is now discontinued. Why not clean those threads up? Again, this is where priorities become important.

By the way, I am responding to this because this section has the word "suggestions" in it... meaning I can post my 2 cents here

 

Around quite a while and never noticed the higher amount of "boredom"threads to be honest.

Or do you mean the threads that are started just to start a thread. Questions that woukd be answered if one should take the effort of 2 seconds of googling of searching themselves.

Or threads like :

"I do like orange, but should I take orange or blue"

"I know this or that and it works but someone tells me it should be different"

"All info and members tell me this or that isn't possible, but "someone on the internet" tells me it is possible. What should I do ?

BTW : Even these don't bother me (I won't answer) but anxious to know if you mean these .

 

Thank you for starting this thread, Ryan.

As a newcomer and not particularly bored by COVID (I already had a boring life), I'm not bothered by posts that are not of interest to me; I just choose to skip over those. The term "community" implies some sort of connection, and connection means different things to different people. That said, the proliferation of posts does certainly add to your workload and we all need to be sensitive to that.

The challenge is in sorting out what's "fish-keeping related" and what isn't. That means some things will inevitably fall into a grey area. I could offer several examples of recent threads, but don't want to call anyone out.

To the point of cleanup: I use the search feature often, and sometimes it brings up older threads, even some that haven't had recent responses. The information gleaned from these posts is still of value to me, especially as a newbie to the group. Just something to consider and cleanup may still be the best path to take.

May I offer this as a possible solution: Any thread started has to be fish-related in some way; meaning it must relate to or directly enhance the aquarist hobby. If the topic has no relevance or connection to fish (not including seafood entrees), aquariums, equipment, aquatic plants, and the like, then it isn't a topic for this site.

Hope you don't mind my humor - my post is very sincere and genuine; my personality is just one that likes to keep things light. Thank you again for opening dialogue on this topic, and for being so welcoming to our opinions. We appreciate all you do!

 

I think y'all are missing the point. We are specifically talking about General and Forum Games.
It's not that Off topic threads aren't allowed. That's what those forums are for.
However, It's a matter of give an inch take a yard.

We're not going to throw out examples of things that have been removed. We won't call out any member that way.

Again, if someone hasn't seen anything, it's likely been handled before you did.

This thread might be in the suggestions forum but it is also the announcement forum, which what Ryan posted.
An announcement, not a suggestion.